Swimming belt



Dec. 118 1923. 11,475,239VA J. MARENGO ET AL.

SWIMMING BELT Filed sept. 21. 1921 Patented Dec. i8, i923.

arrasa WFH@ swiiaiyrme BELT.

Application 'filedy September 21, 1921. SeraPlTo. 502,140.

To all whom t man. czmcerm,Y A p Be it known that we, JOSEPH MARENGO and AUGUST MARENGO, citizens of ythe United States, residing at Stockton, county of Sanl Joaquin, State of California, have invented' certain new' and useful Improvements inv Swimming Belts;v and we fdo declare the following' to 'beafulh clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon,`whichfor1n apart of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in aids to swimming, being particularly intended for beginners, the principal object being to provide a buoyant belt so constructed that the wearer will be supported in the natural swimming position, that is, lying on his stomach inV the water.

Another' object "is' to provide a device of this character which may be easily and quickly put on by the wearer, and when once so applied, cannot slip off, thus giving the wearer a feeling of absolute protection and security While in the Water.

A further object of the invention 'is to construct the belt in such a manner that while, as stated, it will adequately support the wearer, it will not interfere in the slightest with the freedom of movement of his arms and legs, so that the entire efforts of a beginner in the swimming art may be concentrated on acquiring the proper movements or strokes of the arms and legs, rather than in merely keeping himself afloat.

A still further object is to provide a belt which may be readily folded up, and which will then occupy but a minimum of space, and will, either when folded or in use, weigh but very little, so that the user will not be tired either in transporting or wearing the belt.

Apart from its advantages for the purpose above stated, the belt will also serve as an adequate life preserver in case of need, since as stated, it ordinarily occupies but little space, may be quickly put on, and will support the wearer for an indefinite period.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects l accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

Fig. l is a fanciful front outlineof a man,L showing our-beltas worn.

Fig: '2 isa vsimilar rearl view.

-Fig. Bfis a perspective view of the belt detached, and with the shoulder straps removed.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the belt taken on'a line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

lReferring now more'particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral l denotes a length of non-stretchable belting of suitable width and preferably-made of canvas or some similar material. AProjecting from each end of the member l are extensions 2 of equal length and made of soine elastic material such'as that used vin the manufacture of Suspenders and the like, which are arranged to overlap somewhat at their free ends and are 'there provided with a co-operating and quickfastening catch or hook member 3. The members l and 2 together are intended to be placed about the body of the wearer, a suitable distance above the waist and below the arm pits, and with the member l in the back.

Shoulder strap members 4, also preferably of elastic material, are fastened to the back member l., being adapted to be passed over the shoulders of the wearer and to be fastened to the front belt portions 2 by catches 5 similar to the catch 3. These straps may however be omitted, as shown in Fig. 3.

Permanently secured to and on the outside of the piece l is an air chamber 6, made of a fine quality of rubber, so as to hold air for an indefinite period without leaking, and yet be capable of folding or being doubled up into a small space without damage, and to conform to the body of the wearer when in use.

An air valve 7 of any ordinary character is fitted into this chamber, sothat air under compression may readily be admitted thereto when desired, and as readily permitted to escape.

By reason of the inflexible portion of the belt to which the air chamber is fitted, the filling of the chamber with compressed air, tending to stretch the same, has no such effect on the belt itself, the chamber-walls being thus only capable of expansion, transversely rather than longitudinally.

In this way, the belt will always fit the wearer, regardless of the air pressure in the chamber, and the ends of the latter can thus will It is evident of course that to suit all con-Y ditions, various lengths of belt and size of air chambers will have to be provided, but on account of the elastic extensions 2, one sized belt may ht severalV persons of somewhat different build. lOr if desired, one of the members Q, and the shoulder straps, may have slip-buckles, such as are employed on Suspenders and garters.

' rlhe valve 7 is especially intended to be Y used in connection with a hand pump, but

in the event that a pump is not carried or handy, and it is desired to Vinflate. the chamber quickly, as in cases of ship wreck or other emergency, we provide an additional mouth-valve 7, by means of which air may be forced into the chamber by the Vlungpower of the operator.

From the foregoing description it will be nemesi;

readily seen that We have produced Ysuch a device as substantially fulfills the objects of of the device, still in practice suoli deviations from such detail maybe resorted to as ldo not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as defined by the appended c-laim.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and useful'k and desire to seoureby Letters Patent, is z- A swimming belt having its end portions of elastic material but the portion therebetween ofnon-elastic material, said ends having (3o-operative fastening means, and a plif able air chamber member adapted to receive air under compression mounted on the nonelastic portion of the belt, whereby when placed about the body of the wearer the belt will accommodateV itself to different sizes of bodies but'the filling of the air chamber with compressed air willnot cause alengthening of the belt. f

tures.

Josnrrr i/iannueo.V AUGUs'r MARENGO.

In testimony whereof we afixfour signa- 

